Go Green With Your Style

The world of fashion and style is obsessed with following all of the hottest trends, and going green is all the rage. Fashion is becoming very environmentally conscious with regards to production, business habits, and the clothing itself.

You have to give some of the credit to thosecelebrities who have made it their mission to spread the eco-friendly lifestyle message. It is now easier than ever to find fashion products that were created in en environmentally-sound way.

One way is with the use of natural fabrics. These fabrics are created from animal coat fibers, silkworm cocoons, and plants' seeds, leaves, and stems. They include wool, cotton, silk, linen, hemp, and jute.

Another trend is the use of natural fabric dyes. Natural dyes are made from plants, minerals, and sometimes even insects. The advantage to using natural dyes and fabrics is that they don't require lots of processing, so they cause significantly lower amounts of pollution and emissions.

The fashion industry has done a very good job with taking the green initiative, yet still leaving the consumer with a variety of earth-friendly products. There are entire clothing lines that are vegan, organic, sustainable, and recycled materials.

Vegan clothing is aimed at people who have decided not to eat meat and/or wear meat by-products such as leather and crocodile skin. Even if you aren't vegan, buying vegan products is a good idea because research has shown that meat production has more of a negative impact on the environment than car manufacturing.

The term organic clothing applies to fabrics such as leather, wool, or cotton, that were developed from plants or animals without the application of chemical pesticides or genetic modification. Some of the chemicals that are used to produce non-organic products contain carcinogens or air pollutants.

Sustainable clothing is designed in a manner that is less harmful to the atmosphere. For example, fast-growing fibers that are easily replenished are used such as hemp, soy, and bamboo. Locally made resources are also used in order to minimize the amount of energy used and reduce the carbon footprint of the process.

Recycled clothing is made from any type of material that has previously been used. Using recycled materials in fashion prevents the waste of useful textiles. Look for the recycled logo (with the arrows) to indicate that a certain fabric has indeed been reused.

I also suggest that any environmentally-conscious fashionista should buy a naturally-made tote bag to take to the grocery store and cut back on the amount of wasted plastic bags.